Business and Management Research Guide
Welcome to the Business and Management Research Guide. This guide is to assist students who are taking courses in the Dunklau School of Business, and can also assist students, faculty, and staff doing research in this area.
This Research Guide will provide information on the most relevant databases to search from, online periodicals we may subscribe to, and websites and open access options for this subject.
If you have questions or would like assistance with your research, please contact the Head Librarian at library@midlandu.edu.
Use the links below to find free Case Studies from reputable sources.
American Customer Satisfaction Index
Independent measure of household consumption experience. The ACSI tracks trends in customer satisfaction and provides benchmarking insights of the consumer economy for companies, industry associations, and government agencies. Some data is available for free, while other parts of the site require a subscription.
Guide from the Small Business Administration that walks you through the market research process and includes links to government data sources.
From the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Reports price paid for a representative sample of goods and services (inflation).
Experian Marketing Research Reports
Free reports on marketing and consumer behaviors.
Reports and data on market shares, consumer lifestyles and media trends.
Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE)
From the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. Reports consumer spending for entire U.S. Population.
Surveys and reports on the attitudes, opinions, and lifestyles of Americans. Including the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Pew Global Attitudes Project, and Social & Demographic Trends.
Product of the Federal Reserve and contains information on the financial and demographic characteristics of U.S. families.
Find background information and current news on individual countries and regions. Site is provided by the BBC, the British Broadcasting Corporation.
Learn about market conditions, purchasing power, consumer trends, distribution channels, navigating entry constraints, best sectors, key contacts, and more from Export.gov.
Eldis: Country and Regional Profiles
Eldis provides both country profiles and regional profiles, subdivided by topic (agriculture, finance, governance, trade, etc.). Suitable for browsing or keyword searches.
IQS Directory forManufacturing, Business, and Engineering
Website presenting the OEM manufacturing marketplace in the U.S. and Canada in 180 industry categories with contact information for hundreds of manufacturers.
OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
Browse by country to locate full country profiles for the 34 OECD member countries (or news for non-member countries). An OECD country profile is subdivided by: Find (most popular), Display all (by topic or date), Statistics, Books, and What’s
New. While some publications require a subscription or online purchase, substantial material is freely available from this site.
WorldBank: Countries and Regions
Select the “Countries” tab to browse by region or choose a country. Available from this World Bank site are development reports, global economics and trade data, country and regional information, current research projects, and information on international development loans and activities.
Published by the U. S. Central Intelligence Agency, the World Factbook contains country profiles with economic, social, and political information, arranged by country or location. Included are maps and cultural information for international business.
Coverage of most academic areas including business, social sciences, general academic, and general sciences
This database features full text and searchable cited references for top journals covering a variety of business disciplines. In addition, it includes market research reports, industry reports, country reports, company profiles and SWOT analyses.
Directory of Open Access Journals
A large database of open access peer-reviewed journals and articles
The Freedonia Focus Reports cover 15 industries with international content. Topics run the gamut from raw materials to finished manufactured products and various consumer goods and services.
Thousands of full-text magazines, journals, and reference works; more than one million images. Includes Consumer Reports and Consumer Reports Buying Guide.
Formerly LexisNexis, Nexis Uni provides access to more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources, including decisions of the Federal courts and the appellate courts of all 50 states.
Database that includes publications on business news in both urban and rural areas of the United States.
Small Business Reference Center
A source for small business owners. The database includes topics on business strategies, business plans, reports, videos, books, etc.
Data.gov: Government Indicators Database
Provides publicly available governance indicators by country or by region. It contains approximately 400 governance indicators grouped within five categories: Democratic system, market system, public management, rule of law, and socioeconomic indicators
Comprehensive directory maintained at Northwestern University.
GlobalEdge is compiled and maintained by the International Business Center at Michigan State University
ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research)
Archive of digital analysis-ready social science data in multiple software formats including SPSS, SAS, and Stata. Summary statistics for online analysis datasets. Instructional materials for classroom-ready datasets. Searchable bibliographies of data-related literature.
International Documents Collection
Directory including the United Nations, European Union, and other IGO’s and their constituent agencies.
International Trade Administration
An abundance of information for U. S. exporters on trade and industry statistics, market data, and export and import data and procedures.
Data and metadata on labor statistics for over 200 countries or territories. Statistics are arranged by topic, country, or ILO publication. Country annual statistical data are available from 1999-2008, and include economically active population by industry and occupation, total employment by occupation, unemployment by economic activity, hours of work by economic activity, wages in manufacturing, and much more. Site is managed by the International Labour Office (ILO) Department of Statistics.
Statistics and other reports chiefly concerning the 30 member nations of the OECD.
Easy access to data and metadata for OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and selected member countries. Uses four search methods: Keyword (with terms such as: Education, Finance, GDP, Health, Income, Prices, Population, or Trade), Theme, Country (via selection of key indicators in latest annual, Country Statistical Profiles), or access your saved queries under “Browse Queries.”
Major reports on economic development, global finances, and investments, with statistical data and key information about countries worldwide. From UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
UNData: A World of Information
United Nations statistical databases (33 in all, at last count) are accessible through a single entry point. These databases, tables and glossaries contain over 60 million data points and a wide range of themes, such as Agriculture, Education, Employment, Energy, Environment, Health, Human Development, Industry, Information and Communication Technology, National Accounts, Population, Tourism, Trade, and Millennium Development Goals indicators.
U.S. International Trade Commission Dataweb
The ITC dataweb can be used to create monthly, quarterly, and annual reports about U.S. imports and exports extending back to 1989. The data can be parsed into very specific product categories based on 10-digit Harmonized Tariff classification. The dataweb assumes a lot of prior knowledge about trade data, so a novice should plan to spend an hour or two learning how to use it. Even so, in my opinion it is the best source available for customized U.S. import and export data.
World Bank Data and Statistics
Basic demographic, social, and economic data about countries around the world.
Click the Resources link at the top right of the WTO homepage, and then click Trade Statistics in the drop down menu to find the International Trade Statistics yearbook extending back to 1998. subjects such as industry overview, issues, trends, and outlook, industry financial information and financial ratios, compensation and salary surveys, and business valuation resources.
The World Factbook provides information on the history, people and society, government, economy, energy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities.
Risk ratings compiled by the A.M. Best Company.
Directory of Foreign Government Websites
Compiled by Northwestern University Libraries.
Directory of Intergovernmental Organization (IGO) websites
Compiled by Northwestern University Libraries.
The World Bank sponsors this site which examines the business and regulatory environments of countries around the world.
The European Union’s primary portal for statistical information and reports.
Compiled by the World Economic Forum.
Government Indicators Database
Sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank.
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) eLibrary simplifies analysis and research with direct access to the IMF’s periodicals, books, working papers and studies, and data and statistical tools.
International Trade Administration (ITA)/ U.S. Department of Commerce
Developed by international trade experts and economists, Export.gov provides trusted market intelligence, practical advice and business tools to help U.S. companies expand in global markets.
Data from as many as 220 countries. Analysis tools establish “indicators on export performance, international demand, alternative markets and the role of competitors.”
OECD’s estimates for international economic performance.
OECD Economic Surveys and Country Surveillance
OECD’s assessment of current economic conditions in countries around the world.
The World Bank’s primary portal to information and statistics.
U.S. Bilateral Relations Factsheets
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.
U.S. International Trade Commission
U.S. import and export statistics
Worldwide Governance Indicators Project
Sponsored by the World Bank.
Compiled by the World Trade Organization.
Directory of Open Access Books
A large collection of open access eBooks.
Collection of text from a wide range of academic disciplines.
Collection of eBooks with a wide range of subjects.
MasterFILE Reference eBook Collection
eBook collection of general subjects such as history, cooking, health, parenting, personal finance, politics, and much more.
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) helps researchers retrieve data about industries from a number of surveys conducted by government agencies. The numeric NAICS codes (up to 6-digits) serve as identifiers which make it easier to compile comparable data from multiple sources. Find NAICS and SIC codes or United Nations and Broad Economics Categories and data parsed by NAICS codes can be retrieved from these sources:
North American Industry Classification System
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis: quarterly gross domestic product (gdp) by industry, input-output accounts.
The U.S. International Trade Commission DataWeb
The U.S. International Trade Commission DataWeb: foreign trade statistics (imports and exports).
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: demographics, industries, occupations, geography, and business costs.
Research diverse perspectives, topics, and trends that align with curricular areas such as Political Science, English, Sociology, Humanities, Business, International Studies, and more.
Create a login for free and read articles from the New York Times.
Association for Research on Nonprofits and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA)
ARNOVA offers publications and research related to nonprofits and volunteerism.
Better Business Bureau for Charities and Donors
Another good site for researching the reputation of charities.
BoardSource is similar to the Free Management Library in that it offers support to nonprofit boards related to governance practices.
A good site for researching the reputations of various charities and to see who is ranked high (or low) among categories such as education, human and civil rights and arts, culture and the humanities.
Chronicle of Philanthropy National Center for Charitable Statistics
Another great resource for nonprofit research (including 990 forms). Lots of great top-level statistics, like how many tax-exempt organizations exist broken out by charities, private foundations and other nonprofit groups.
The Free Management Library is a resource for nonprofits. It offers tips and toolkits related to various topics that are relevant to nonprofits, including Boards of Directors, Leadership Development, Mentoring, Decision Making, Growing Organizations and more.
Guidestar is the go-to resource for nonprofit research. The free version provides access to a nonprofit’s IRS Form 990 filings which can be great sources of information on a nonprofit and include revenue info as well as money spent on top outside consultants and top highest-paid executives.
Business Plans Handbook is a collection of business plans compiled by entrepreneurs seeking funding for small businesses throughout North America.
Encyclopedia of Small Business
This Encyclopedia defines and then details issues faced by small businesses, including accounting, competitive bids and outsourcing, among many other topics.
SCORE “Counselor to America’s Small Business”
A resource partner of the Small Business Association, SCORE offices are located throughout each state–SCORE can help your small business by answering tax questions, helping you find funding and a lot more.
In addition to business plan templates and information on financing and grants, there are also links to individual state sites and other useful sources.